The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) have received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the sixteen ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eight have assigned a hold recommendation and seven have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $89.27.

SO has been the topic of a number of research reports. Guggenheim upped their price target on Southern from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Wolfe Research downgraded Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Mizuho lowered Southern from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $90.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Monday, September 16th. Barclays increased their price target on Southern from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Southern from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In related news, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.64, for a total value of $2,689,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 145,088 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,005,688.32. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Southern news, CEO James Y. Kerr II sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.64, for a total transaction of $2,689,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 145,088 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,005,688.32. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Bryan D. Anderson sold 6,565 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.54, for a total value of $587,830.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,981,575.18. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southern

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SO. Vista Capital Partners Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Southern by 1.4% during the second quarter. Vista Capital Partners Inc. now owns 8,743 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $678,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. grew its position in Southern by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. now owns 3,246 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $293,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC increased its stake in Southern by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 2,201 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $198,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Birchcreek Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Southern by 4.5% in the third quarter. Birchcreek Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,836 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $256,000 after buying an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Modera Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Southern by 1.4% in the second quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,048 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $702,000 after buying an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. 64.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southern Price Performance

Southern stock opened at $87.40 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $95.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.33, a PEG ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.52. Southern has a 52-week low of $65.80 and a 52-week high of $94.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.91. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $89.86 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $83.62.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.10. Southern had a net margin of 17.87% and a return on equity of 12.78%. The business had revenue of $7.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.14 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.42 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Southern will post 4.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.30%. Southern’s payout ratio is presently 66.98%.

Southern Company Profile

The Southern Company, through its subsidiaries, engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity. The company also develops, constructs, acquires, owns, and manages power generation assets, including renewable energy projects and sells electricity in the wholesale market; and distributes natural gas in Illinois, Georgia, Virginia, and Tennessee, as well as provides gas marketing services, gas distribution operations, and gas pipeline investments operations.